Ultimate Brain Games

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We tool around with Telegames' upcoming compilation pack of parlor-style games.

By Craig Harris

It's good when publishers give gamers more bang for their buck, and that's exactly what Telegames is setting out to do with its next game for the system. Ultimate Brain Games is a compilation of several extremely familiar games, most of which are made for both one or two players. And with eight distinctly different games to play, there's a good chance there's at least one game that's right up your alley. Telegames sent us an early version of the game so we can get a feel for what the team's doing for this compilation pack, and so far we really like what we see...this pack is darn near perfect for handheld gaming.

Features

Eight parlor games

Persona creator

Link cable support for two players

Cartridge save

Only for Game Boy Advance

Ultimate Brain Games features cut-and-dry versions of popular parlor games, and chances are you've played iterations of these games before, either in real life or in virtual form. The compilation pack includes accurate versions of chess, checkers, dominos, and backgammon, and it also has unlicensed, generic versions of other familiar games including Connect Four, Battleship, Othello, and Shanghai...but without the names that could and would infringe on those copyrights.

The Connect Four clone is essentially a tic-tac-toe game where players drop colored tokens into play, stacking them in order to form four colors in a row up/down, across, or diagonally. The version of Battleship puts two players against each other, trying to target the other players' clipper ships...a new wrinkle: get a hit, and you get a free shot against the other opponent. Othello, also known as reversi, challenges players to dominate the playing field with their color, black or white, by flipping opposite colors to their own. And UGB's Shanghai is just as it has always been: remove mahjong tiles from play by pairing them up.

There are a few additional goodies in this compilation pack. Players can opt to play chess on a 3D Mode 7-style board that can move in real-time...though in this early version it was still a might glitchy. Each player can choose their on-screen persona, creating their face from a series of heads, eyes, hair, and clothes. And each game can be saved during any point to the cartridge...a perfect option for handheld gamers who are continuously surrounded by distractions and need to quit playing suddenly.

Ultimate Brain Games also supports the link cable for two player challenges...and many of the games (hopefully all of them) will use the GBA's multi-boot function. Meaning, to play two players, you'll only need one copy of the cartridge for two GBA systems. This is already working in Connect Four...but we're hoping all of these games will support it.

Watch for a release of Ultimate Brain Games this September. Check out the screenshots and video of each game in the compilation by hitting the link below.